Managing in a VUCA World (eBook)

Oliver Mack is Researcher, Entrepreneur, Coach and Consultant located in Salzburg and Vienna, Austria. He studied Business Administration and Law at the University of Mannheim and got his PhD in Political Science at Johannes-Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Germany. He is author of several publications and speaker at international conferences and meetings and he is academic teacher in international organizations. Mack is founder of mack:consulting, a consulting company helping companies and organizations in the “3rd mode of consulting”,  combination of traditional top management consulting and systemic change consulting in the main areas of Project Orientation, New Organizational Design and Restructuring/Change. Oliver Mack is Network partner of osb international Vienna, a leading Systemic Consulting companies in Europe. He is also founder of the xm:institute, an organization doing applied research and application of “Ideas for Management & Leadership in the Next Society”. He is active in various associations, like Board Member at GLOBArt, a leading Austrian Think Tank for the Future Society.Anshuman Khare is Professor in Operations Management at Athabasca University, Canada. He joined Athabasca University in January 2000. He is a MBA and PhD from Allahabad University, India. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and has completed two post-doctoral terms at Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany. He is also a former Monbusho Scholar, having completed a postdoctoral assignment at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. He has published a number of books and research papers on a wide range of topics. His research focuses on environmental regulation impacts on industry, just-in-time manufacturing, supply chain management, sustainability, cities and climate change, etc.  Anshuman serves on Athabasca University General Faculties Council representing Faculty of Business Faculty Council as a full-time academic faculty member. As his commitment to community Anshuman also serves on the Board of Directors of Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI) and is the Vice Chair of Smart Cities Masterplan Steering Committee for the City of St. Albert. He is on the Steering Committee of Alexander von Humboldt Cities and Climate Change Network of research scientists and on the executive of Humboldt Association of Canada. Anshuman has recently agreed to serve as Associate Editor of "International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education" published by Emerald. Andreas Krämer is Marketing and Strategy Consultant, living in Bonn, Germany, and Professor of Customer Value Management and Pricing at BiTS Business and Information Technology School, Iserlohn. He studied Agricultural Economics and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Bonn. After working for two strategy consultancies he founded his own consulting firm in 2000: exeo Strategic Consulting AG is focused on data-driven decision support in marketing - especially pricing and customer value management. He is author of several books and numerous publications and speaker at international conferences and meetings.Thomas Burgartz is Professor of Business Administration and Performance Measurement at BiTS Business and Information Technology School, Iserlohn and dean of its faculty of economy. He received his diploma in business sciences at the Technical University of Dortmund and earned his Ph.D. in customer relationship controlling. He has published, presented, and consulted on marketing performance measurement, customer relationship management, strategic controlling and operations management.

Preface 6
Introduction 6
Review Process 7
Acknowledgements 8
Contents 10
About the Editors 12
Contributors 14
Part I: The Phenomenon of VUCA and Complexity 20
Chapter 1: Perspectives on a VUCA World 21
1.1 At the Corner of the Twenty-First Century 21
1.2 The VUCA Phenomenon 23
1.3 Complexity as the Core Concept 26
1.4 Effects and Implications of Environmental Complexity 29
1.5 Theoretical Approaches 31
1.6 Consequences and Fields of Application 33
References 35
Chapter 2: Simply More Complex: A SySt® Approach to VUCA 38
2.1 VUCA: The Principle of “Surprise” 38
2.1.1 What Appears and How It Appears 38
2.1.2 Causality 40
2.1.3 Living Forwards 41
2.2 Switching Decision-Making Levels 42
2.3 Oscillating 43
2.3.1 Increasing VUCA Capability 43
2.3.2 Example: Oscillating Between the Hierarchy, Project and Network 45
2.4 Change as a Tetralemma Process 46
2.4.1 Sources 46
2.4.2 Process Paradigm 47
2.4.3 Stages in Development and Change Processes 47
2.4.4 The SySt-Tetralemma in Tires 48
2.4.5 Some Questions for Applications that Follow from the Different Tiers 49
2.4.6 There’s a Fix for Every Problem! 50
2.4.7 We Determine the Background of the Stage 51
2.5 Paradoxes Facilitate Strong Solutions 52
2.6 State Qualities and Process Qualities 54
References 54
Part II: Leadership, Strategy and Planning 56
Chapter 3: Program Management in VUCA Environments: Theoretical and Pragmatical Thoughts on a Systemic Management of Projects and Programs 57
3.1 Changing Business Environments Require Different Approaches 57
3.2 Terminological and Theoretical Basics: Strategic Change Programs in Living Organizational Systems 59
3.3 Project and Program Setups Considering SySt® System Principles 61
3.4 Project and Program Dynamics in the SySt® Triangle of Belief Polarities 63
3.5 Ideas for a Systemic Program Management Approach 66
3.5.1 Ongoing Order Clarification for Programs 67
3.5.2 Providing Purpose and Sense of Projects and a Change Mindset 68
3.5.3 Systemic Configuration of a Useful Program and Project Structure 69
3.5.4 Generating a Coupling Between Program and Projects 70
3.5.5 Managing the Program and Project-Related Scope and Content 71
3.6 Conclusions, Outcome and Outlook 71
References 72
Chapter 4: Keeping the Flow: Creating Opportunities Based on Well Structured Collaboration 74
4.1 Introduction 74
4.2 A Shift of Paradigm: Complexity Rules 75
4.2.1 Faster, Bigger, More 75
4.2.2 Trying Harder Doesn’t Work 75
4.2.3 Complex Does Not Mean Highly Complicated 76
4.2.4 The Change of a System 76
4.3 A Shift of Wisdom: Multiplicity Rules 77
4.3.1 Knowledge Explosion 77
4.3.2 Details Kill the Big-Picture-Star 78
4.3.3 Knowledge Explosion Creates Multiplicity 78
4.4 A Shift of Angles: Collaboration Rules 79
4.4.1 Daring, Sharing, Caring 79
4.4.1.1 Different Angles Don’t Compete 79
4.4.2 New Things Are Based on Collaboration 80
4.4.3 Power to the People 81
4.4.4 Collaboration Demands Being Smart 81
4.5 A Shift of Relevance: Sociocracy Rules 81
4.5.1 Sociocracy Delivers Wisdom 81
4.5.2 Creating Brightness 83
4.5.3 Stakeholders Represent Multiplicity 84
4.5.4 Defining Relevance 85
4.6 A Shift of Growth: Sustainability Rules 85
4.6.1 Defining Growth 85
4.6.2 More Becomes Better, Higher Becomes Brighter: Nothing Stays the Same 86
4.7 A Shift of Attitude: Innovation Rules 86
4.7.1 Knowledge Is the Oxygen for Innovation 86
4.7.2 Collaboration Is the Key 87
4.7.3 Value Is in Motion 87
4.8 A Shift of Value: The Flow Rules 88
4.8.1 The Value Circle 88
4.8.2 Value Defines Growth 88
4.8.3 Reflecting on Core Competences 89
4.8.4 Keeping the Flow 89
4.9 Summary 90
References 91
Chapter 5: Risk Management in a VUCA World: Practical Guidelines Based on the Example of a Multinational Retail Group 92
5.1 The Need for Risk Management 92
5.2 Principles of Risk Management 93
5.2.1 Terminology 93
5.2.2 Objectives and Functions of Risk Management 95
5.3 Challenges in a VUCA World 95
5.3.1 Definition of VUCA 95
5.3.2 Multinational Retail Groups in the VUCA World 96
5.3.3 Effects of VUCA on Risk Management 97
5.4 A Holistic Risk Management Process in the VUCA World 100
5.4.1 Risk Identification 100
5.4.2 Risk Quantification and Assessment (Risk Analysis) 101
5.4.3 Risk Response 103
5.4.4 Risk Monitoring 104
5.5 Implementation in a Multinational Retail Group 105
5.5.1 Organisation 105
5.5.2 Tools 107
5.5.3 Reporting 107
5.6 Summary 108
References 109
Part III: Marketing and Communication 111
Chapter 6: Measures to Understand and Control Customer Relationship and Loyalty 112
6.1 Customer Relationship: Three-Layer Model 113
6.1.1 Exterior Layer: Business Model (Business Strategy) 113
6.1.2 Middle Layer: Customer Strategy (Information- and Value-Strategy) 114
6.1.3 Interior Layer: Operative Marketing (Customer/Touch Points) 117
6.2 IT-Supported Customer Value Management 117
6.2.1 Customer Information and their Transformation in IT-Systems 118
6.2.2 Operationalization of the Customer Benefit (Value to the Customer) 118
6.2.3 Operationalization of the Customer Value (Value of the Customer) 119
6.3 Integration of the Dimensions “Value to the Customer” and “Value of the Customer” 120
6.4 The Value-to-Value-Approach (V2V) in the Business Practice 122
6.4.1 Application in a Company in the Mobility Sector (B2C-Relationship) 122
6.4.2 Application in a Multimedia Company (B2B-Relationship) 124
6.5 Conclusion 126
References 127
Chapter 7: Pricing in a VUCA World: How to Optimize Prices, if the Economic, Social and Legal Framework Changes Rapidly 128
7.1 Relevance to Determine the Optimal Price Level 128
7.2 Conventional Framework for the Price Setting 130
7.2.1 The Influence of VUCA on Pricing Rules 132
7.3 A Extended Holistic Approach for Value-Based Pricing 136
7.4 The Future of Pricing in a VUCA World 139
References 140
Chapter 8: Internal Corporate Communication in a VUCA Environment 142
8.1 Framework Conditions for Company Communication 142
8.1.1 Evaluation of the Current Situation and the Significance for the Individual 143
8.2 The Path from the Sender to the Recipient 144
8.2.1 Communication of the Results 145
8.2.2 Starting Communication and Invitation to Constructive Cooperation 145
8.2.3 Sender 146
8.2.4 Recipient 146
8.3 Selection and Use of Media During the Change Process 147
8.3.1 Design and Selection of the Media 147
8.3.2 The Process from the Communication Goal to the Communication Plan 148
8.3.3 Selection of the Communication Tools 149
8.3.4 Feedback and Evaluating Success 150
8.3.5 Continuity 150
References 150
Part IV: Operations and Cost Management 152
Chapter 9: Addressing Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity (VUCA) Through Insourcing and Backshoring
9.1 Introduction 153
9.2 Outsourcing and Offshoring Cost VUCA 155
9.3 Insourcing and Backshoring to Address VUCA 157
9.4 Concluding Remarks 159
References 160
Chapter 10: A Framework for Operational Agility: How SMEs Are Evaluating Their Supply Chain Integration 162
10.1 Introduction 162
10.2 Agility and Supply Chain Integration 164
10.3 The Business Environment Audit: Turbulence Indicators 166
10.3.1 Turbulent Assessment 166
10.3.1.1 Level of Change 166
10.3.1.2 Level of Control 168
10.3.1.3 Level of Impact 168
10.3.1.4 Benchmark Level 169
10.3.2 The Total Priority Number (TPN) Calculation 169
10.4 Extending Agile Supply Chains 170
10.5 Methodology 173
10.6 Company Summaries 174
10.7 Conclusions 177
References 178
Chapter 11: Mittelstand and Decision-Oriented Controlling 180
11.1 Introduction 180
11.2 Controlling as an Interactive System 181
11.3 Next Steps for Controlling 182
References 185
Chapter 12: Sustaining Reductions in Aircraft Emissions for Canada’s Major Airlines 186
12.1 Introduction 186
12.2 Research Overview 187
12.2.1 Purpose 187
12.2.2 Research Design and Questions 187
12.2.3 Scope and Delimitations 188
12.2.4 Assumptions 188
12.3 Literature Review 188
12.3.1 Value Statements in Environmental Responsibility 188
12.3.2 Sustaining Environmental Responsibility 189
12.4 The Correlation of Values to Environmental Responsibility 190
12.4.1 Background 190
12.4.2 The Alignment of Value Statements to Environmental Initiatives 191
12.4.3 Values Supporting Company Initiatives 191
12.4.4 Values Supporting Commitment and Community 192
12.4.5 Values Supporting Accountability and Attitude 193
12.4.6 Attributing Values to Action 193
12.5 Sustaining Environmental Responsibility 194
12.5.1 Defining Environmental Responsibility for Airlines 194
12.5.2 Reducing Emissions Through Collaboration 195
12.5.3 Sustaining Emission Reductions 195
12.5.4 Quantify 197
12.5.5 Predict 198
12.5.6 Plot 199
12.5.7 Contrast 199
12.5.8 Revise 200
12.6 Recommendations 200
12.7 Conclusion 201
Appendix A: Framework Calculations 202
Appendix B: Westjet Fleet Changes Calculations 202
Appendix C: Scatter Diagram 203
References 203
Part V: Organization and Culture 205
Chapter 13: Organizational Approaches to Answer a VUCA World 206
13.1 Introduction 206
13.2 Overview: Recent Developments in Organizational Development 208
13.2.1 The Connected Company 208
13.2.2 Accelerate: The Dual Operating System 209
13.2.3 Light Footprint Approach 210
13.2.4 Overcoming Shortfalls of Organizational Structure 211
13.3 Overcoming Shortfalls of the Operational Structure 213
13.4 Conclusion 216
References 217
Chapter 14: Environmental Justice in a VUCA World 218
14.1 Introduction 218
14.2 What Is Environmental Justice? 220
14.3 Who Is Affected? 222
14.4 Impacts of Environmental Injustice 223
14.5 Sources of Environmental Injustice 224
14.6 VUCA, Environmental Justice and TSIS 227
14.6.1 What Can Be Done to Help or Alleviate the Problems?: A Canadian Case Study 229
14.7 Discussion 230
14.8 Conclusion 231
References 231
Part VI: IT, Technology and Data Management 234
Chapter 15: The Uncertainty of Information Systems: Cause or Effect of VUCA? 235
15.1 Introduction 235
15.2 Information Systems: Driver of, or Driven by VUCA? 237
15.3 Technology Infrastructure 238
15.4 Services Infrastructure 239
15.5 Policies Infrastructure 241
15.6 A Case Study: Supporting Clinical Processes Through Autonomous Information Technology? 243
15.7 Conclusion: The Road Ahead 245
References 247
Chapter 16: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity in Higher Education 249
16.1 Introduction 249
16.2 Vulnerability to Disruption 250
16.3 Sustainability 251
16.4 Sustainability and VUCA 252
16.5 Discussion 253
16.6 Conclusion 257
References 257
Index 260